Personal bests help Belvidere North bowlers win thriller

By Bob Balgemann

REPORTER

Personal best scores by three Belvidere North bowlers helped the Blue Thunder edge Guilford by 52 pins in a NIC-10 match.

North burst into a big lead early on, taking the first game from the Vikings, 1,260-1,057. However, Guilford came back to win the next two games, by 1,301-1,288 and 1,272-1,134.

When adding up the total pinfall, the Blue Thunder was on top, 3,382-3,630.

Standout individual efforts were delivered by Justin Bragg who recorded a 696 series that included a 278 single game, both personal bests for him this season. Javier Martinez chipped in a 650 series while Jose Gonzalez had a 618, to go with a 259 single game.

Garrett Nelson didn’t contribute a personal best, but his 646 series was a major addition to his team’s total. Nelson’s 731 series and 279 single game came on opening day in conference action.

Jonathan Powell helped with North’s victory with a 545 series and Alex Schauer with a 528.

The win improved North’s conference record to 2-4 and moved them up one notch in the standings.

Belvidere ran into league co-leader Harlem and succumbed to another strong performance by the Huskies, 4,044-3,333. The 4,044 series was high for the day’s five matches while the opening single game of 1,409 ranked second.

Joe Gallagher had another solid effort, turning in a 632 series for the Bucs. He was followed by Kevin Jenks with a 558; Brock Irwin, a 538; Anthony Gutierrez, a 536; Ben Deardorff, a 535; and Greg Suthers, a 534.

Girls teams

Both Belvidere girls’ teams hit a speed bump on their quest for a second-place finish in the conference.

In a battle of 4-1 teams, Belvidere North lost to Guilford, 3,680-3,305. The Lady Blue Thunder won the first game, 1,193-1,146, but fell behind when the Lady Vikings took game number two by a 1,246-983 count.

North’s Brynn Lambrecht had one of the top efforts of the day with a three-game 726 series, high among individuals and now second overall in the conference. The 257 single game also was her personal best for the season.

Next up for the Lady Blue Thunder were Kylie Johnson with a 573 series; Rachel Nelson with a 536; Sidney Baird, a 518; Alexis Berndorf, a 505; and Camile Spencer, a 447.

Belvidere ran into league-leader Harlem and fell, 3,734-3,194. It was close after the first game with the Lady Huskies up by only 28 pins. However, they took command in game No. 2, with a 1,396-1,025 advantage. Team-wise, the 1,396 was high for the day.

Hailey Carter paced the Lady Bucs with a personal best 634 series, nine pins better than the 625 she rolled a few days earlier.

Other contributions came from Alexis Sherman with a 567 series; Hannah Lowery with a 564; Holley Steelberg, a 545; Hannah Whidby, a 462; and Elyce Turnipseed, a 522.

There are three conference games left in the 2016-17 season.